VOL 2: Fanning the Flames ON HIATUS
by Thedragoness821
Summary: Continued from Vol 1, sorry it took so long to update this, I got super busy IRL and honestly, I forgot I had wrote two chapters for this new installment LOL. Rated strong T
1. Chapter 1

_Notes: Okay … I know this WAS part of the other story, but I just couldn't make it fit in with it, so I decided to break these chapters off and make them the start of volume 2 of "Embers". Sorry for any confusion this might cause._

* * *

Sydney dreamed so well that night … the same dream she had been having almost every night; she dreamt of ardent caresses and heated, passionate kisses, then, that sound, that god awful sound boring its way into her skull; her alarm.

"Son of a bitch!"she cursed as she rolled over and smacked that confounded thing into silence.

She lay there in the new silence, for the first time since she could ever remember, she was dreading going into work.

It had been three weeks since their night together and on the job, Gage was still an amazing partner, he was the same old reliable Gage that she had always counted on to have her back, no matter what.

But it was _after_ work that was the problem, as soon as their job was done, he was gone, always with some sort of excuse as to why they couldn't do anything together outside of work.

She had gotten so tired of being shot down every time that she had just stopped asking.

She wiped away the tears of hurt and anguish that began to slip down her cheeks, what's done is done, there was no use crying about it. As her mother always used to say, it was time to put on her big girl boots and play out the hand she was dealt.

* * *

Sydney couldn't help but noticing that Gage's desk was vacant when she got off the elevator at ranger headquarters.

"Sydney, right on time as usual … which is more than I can say for someone else." Trivette said as he nodded to her partner's desk across from hers.

"Any idea what's going on?" He asked her.

"And why the hell would I know that?" Sydney snapped before she could stop herself, she cringed visibly at the bitterness in her voice.

Trivette back away a step or two and put his hands out in front of him in appeasement. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I just figured …."

"Well we're not." Sydney said flatly as she crossed her arms in front of her just as Walker joined them.

"Any word on Gage?" He asked, looking pointedly at Sydney.

Sydney opened her mouth to respond when, as if on cue, the elevator doors opened and Gage burst through, slightly breathless.

"Sorry, boss, you know how that truck of mine acts in the cold weather, couldn't get it to start for anything this morning." He said.

Sydney looked from Walker to Gage with apprehension for her partner, if it was anything Walker hated more than criminals, it was irresponsible people who didn't take their duties seriously.

Walker nodded to him. "Fair enough." He said, the lightest feather could have knocked Sydney over and judging by the expression Trivette wore, he was feeling the exact same way. Did Walker just _dismiss_ the fact that Gage was almost thirty minutes late to work for the third time this week?

No, there had to be something else going on, something serious; the ringing of Trivette's desk phone brought her back to reality.

"Walker, we got trouble." He said.

* * *

"What'd we got?" Trivette asked the officer in command, a portly man by the name of Sargent Dennis Stanton as he, Walker, Gage and Sydney arrived on the scene at a bank.

"Bank heist gone south, he's got ten hostages in there counting the tellers, we're just lucky it wasn't lunch time when this happened, or this bank would have been packed." The sergeant said.

Walker grabbed the Sergeant's binoculars and studied the front of the bank for what seemed like an eternity, straining his eyes, seeing if he could get any kind of glimpse inside, but it was no use.

"Is there any way we can get eyes inside that bank?" Walker asked Stanton, who shook his head.

"The ring leader says he'll start killing hostages if we get close."

Walker rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Let me try." He said as he crept off toward the side, flanking the building. The other rangers held their breath as Walker eased up to the window to sneak a peek.

There were four suspect and they had the hostages contained in the back, behind the teller's desk. Walker suddenly had an idea, he crept back to where the small army of cops were held up at the front of the bank.

"Do you have any flash bangs?" Walker asked Stanton.

"Yes, what do you have in mind?" Stanton asked.

"The suspects and hostages are in the front of the bank, I am going to sneak around back and create a diversion, that should make the leader send at least two of his men to check it out, I will take care of them, you sent the SWAT team in the front." Walker said.

Stanton nodded and got on the radio to the SWAT team, informing them of the plan and handed Walker a radio as well. "Let us know when to move." He said.

Walker crept to the back of the building, there was a fire door and since the suspects had cut the electrical wires to the bank to kill the security system, they had also disabled the door's alarm. Walker eased inside and with his back against the wall, approaching the corner, he peaked around the side and saw no one, perfect! He pulled the pin on the flash bang and tossed it down the hallway.

The suspects and the hostages alike ducked as the concession traveled through the building.

"Go check it out!" the leader, a short, lean man by the name of Henry Rodgers barked at his subordinates.

Walker heard them coming long before they would know what hit them, it was almost laughable as he saw the mouths of their M16's come into view around the corner first, he grabbed the muzzles of both weapons and shoved them back into the surprised faces of their owners, both men fell, out like lights before they knew what had hit them.

Walker took one of the weapons and relieved the other of its magazine, as he crept forward, he took out his radio.

"Stanton, two of the suspects are taken care of, send SWAT in now." He said.

Seconds later, he heard the front doors being breeched and a small gun battle ensuing, but it was over as soon as he started, by the time he got to the front, the other two suspects were being led away and the hostages were being escorted out to be looked over by EMS, he heard the sirens of another departing as he caught sight of the body of a fallen SWAT team member.

"Oh, no." Sydney breathed as she knelt beside the officer's body.

"His name was Thomas Pack, he was a K9 cop, his dog was wounded too, but it was because of them we were able to get the jump on these guys. Stanton said, his voice was heavy with sadness as he took out his phone.

"I have to make some phone calls, please excuse me." He said as he walked off by himself, digging his phone out as he went.

"Telling the family, that's something I will never get used to." Trivette said as he joined Walker, Sydney and Gage. Walker remained silent as Stanton rejoined them, looking downcast.

"Well good news is K9 Tripp is going to make a full recovery, but he won't be able to return to active duty." Stanton said.

"Don't police dogs who can't return to active duty usually go home with the officer's families?" Trivette said.

"Yes, normally they do, but Officer Pack wasn't married, and his parents past away a few years back. He has a sister, but she lives in California I believe.

"Wait a minute, Walker _you_ could take the dog! You have this huge ranch, it's like animal heaven out there! A dog would love it!" Trivette said, his eyes widening in excitement.

"Wait a minute, Trivette," Walker said, smiling at his friend's … enthusiasm. "I don't have any experience working with police dogs, and in case you've forgotten, I have a _baby_ at home that takes most of my time already. But, you're a dog person, aren't you?" Walker offered, Trivette broke out into a huge smile for a moment before looking downcast.

"Yeah, but my apartment complex doesn't allow pets and I am sure they would NOT want a former "attack" dog living next door." He replied.

Walker then turned to Sydney.

Syd, don't you have experience with K9's?" Walker asked.

"If you count being the kennel assistant while I was in the Academy." She said with a laugh.

"And you live in a dog friendly apartment complex, it's like it was meant to be!" Trivette said.

"Whoa you guys, didn't you forget my hectic work schedule? I am hardly home as it is." She said.

"We could talk to Bruscoe, I am sure he wouldn't mind a former police dog as the company B mascot." Gage said, totally ignoring Sydney's protests.

"If you want the dog so badly then why don't you take him?" Sydney asked Gage, her eyes narrowing at him.

"My complex doesn't allow dogs, either, or else I would believe me." He said with a grin and a shrug.

Sydney blew out an exasperated sigh. " _Fine_ … I will take the son of a bitch … but you guys OWE me." She said as she brandished her finger at all of them.

* * *

"Ah Ranger Cooke! We have been expecting you!" Doctor Jacobs said as he stepped into the exam room and shook her hand heartily.

"Now, I will go over his medications and what his needs will be while he heals, he should make a full recovery, just not enough to return to active duty, due to the muscle damage he sustained. For about six weeks he will need to be basically on bed rest, with just short trips outside to the bathroom and right back in. Then, after six weeks I will need to see him back in here for an evaluation." Doctor Jacobs said as he put several bottles on the exam table in front of her.

"This first one is an antibiotic, he will get this twice a day until it's gone, this one is a pain killer, give as needed and the third one is a sedative, in case you have trouble keeping him quiet." He said.

"You want me to _drug_ him?" Sydney interjected, she was surprised that a doctor would even suggest something like that.

"Only as needed, it is imperative that he refrain from any physical activity until he is fully healed, he could injure himself further, and no one wants that, do we?" He quipped as the door opened and a tech brought a monstrous black dog into the room. He had the most striking pair of eyes she had ever seen, they were a stunning golden color.

Doctor Jacobs put all of his medicines in a bag with the information on how to give each one, lest she forget and sent her on her way. The dog called Tripp walked out of the vet's office on perfect heel without even an ounce of pressure on the leash, he stopped and sat when they reached her jeep and waited patiently, looking up at her with those stunning eyes as she fumbled for her keys.

"Crap!" Sydney cursed under her breath as she dropped them, before she could even bend over to get them, Tripp reached down, picked them up and offered them to her.

"Uh … thanks." She said as she hit the unlock button and opened the door, Tripp merely sat, waiting.

"get in. Come on, I know it's not a police cruiser or anything but you're going to have to get used to it." she said, nothing; the dog still sat there, staring at her unblinkingly, as if waiting for a certain command. It suddenly dawned on her.

"Okay." without another moment's hesitation, the dog leapt lightly into the back seat. Sydney smiled in spite of herself and shook her head as she opened the driver's door and slid behind the wheel.

She looked at the dog in her rear view mirror to see he had already lied down and made himself comfortable across her bench seat.

 _Notes: wow! Sorry this took so long, I have been dealing with a lot of life stuff lately! Hopefully you all liked it and hopefully the next update won't be as long. Thanks to everyone for being so patient!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Well … here we are, it's not much, but it's home … at least until I save up enough money to buy a nice piece of land out in the country somewhere." Sydney said with a laugh, the huge wolf like dog just stared at her unblinkingly, his long tail wafting lazily back and forth.

"Oh, right, food! You must be hungry, right? I hope you like this stuff, I really didn't like the crap they were feeding you at the department. I would rather support small local business when I can." Sydney said as she opened the bag and poured some into the bowl.

The huge dog wasted no time in wolfing it down, and licking the bowl clean.

"Well, I guess that means you approve." She said with a laugh.

"And I even got you a nice …" she said, stopping in mid-sentence as the dog made himself at home on her couch.

"Okay … whatever … mi casa es su casa." She said as she settled on the couch next to him to watch television.

* * *

The next thing Sydney heard was the sound of her phone ringing, she looked over at the dog, he hadn't even moved from his spot next to her, his head on her leg. She smiled in spite of herself, but her smile faded into a serious expression when she glanced at the caller ID.

"Yes, Trivette." She said.

"Syd, there's been another armed robbery, we need you down here stat." Trivette's voice said over the line.

"Be right there." Sydney said, suddenly awake as she looked over at the dog, who was now pinning her with his intense, yellow eyed stare.

"What's that saying? No rest for the wicked?" She said as she scratched him behind the ears.

* * *

"What do we have?" Sydney asked as she met Walker, Trivette, and Gage at the scene.

"Armed robbery, looks like a smash and grab, three dead inside, the owner and two employees.

"Hey, what's _he_ doing here?" Gage asked as he nodded his head to the car, where the huge German shepherd was sticking his head out of the back window.

"I didn't have a choice, he wouldn't take no for an answer!" She replied, narrowing her eyes at his short tone.

"You could have just … you know … put him back in the house." Gage retorted.

"Oh sure, Gage, I am going to be able to wrestle an eighty pound German shepherd with forty two teeth and years of police apprehension training out of the back seat of my car." She said as she put her hands on her hips in that adorable way she did when she was pissed and trying to make a point.

Gage grinned in spite of himself as Walker and Trivette walked up.

"I see you have a new partner today." Walker said, an amused smile on his face.

"Hey …!" Gage interjected indignantly.

"Works for me, dogs are easier to train, anyway." She said with a smirk, Walker and Trivette laughed.

* * *

"So that's the dog, huh?" Bruscoe said as he leaned against the doorway to the company B bullpen.

"Sure is, dog's really taken a liking to Sydney, too." Walker said as he crossed his arms amusingly in front of him.

"Seems like she has a new partner, whether she likes it or not." Bruscoe said with a hearty laugh as he sidled back to his office.

Gage groaned inwardly, at first he was happy Sydney had taken the dog, especially when the poor thing had nowhere else to go, but now he was starting to regret it. He was jealous of a dog, there, he admitted it (albeit only to himself.

His train of thought was broken by Walker's desk phone ringing.

"Walker." He answered and his expression immediately turned serious as he listened; Trivette, Gage and Sydney gathered around.

"Yes, thank you detective." He said as he hung up the phone.

"Dallas PD collared one of the robbers, but he isn't talking, I want you and Gage to get down there and step into him, see what you can get out of him." Walker said.

* * *

"You're wastin' your time, I got the same thing to say to you that I said to the other cops … nothin'." The man said as Gage and Sydney entered, suddenly, Tripp leapt up onto the interrogation table, his lips peeled back into a savage looking snarl as a low, rumbling growl reverberated up from his throat.

"Wha … what the hell?!" The robber said as he jerked back.

Sydney sauntered up beside Tripp, who continued to stare into the man's face with his fierce yellow eyes and leaned nonchalantly against the side of the table. "I wouldn't make any sudden moves, there partner, see, I was in a hurry to get to work this morning and I forgot to feed my dog, so if you act too much like prey, you just might _become_ prey." Sydney said, her voice had a cryptic air to it.

The robber swallowed audibly and Tripp threw a few booming barks his way, thus giving the robber a full view of his set of sharp, pearly teeth.

"Okay! okay! I don't know who hired us, we were hired sight unseen over the phone, wired the money and told by text message which bank to hit, when … that's all I know, I swear!" He said as he shrunk away in fear of Tripp.

"Walker was right, he _is_ a better partner than you." Sydney said with a wink as she and Tripp walked passed Gage and out of the interrogation room.

"Syd … wait!" Gage called indignantly as he hurried after them.

He caught them at the elevator and Tripp whirled around and showed his mouth full of gleaming, pearly teeth.

"what the…!" Gage said as he shot Sydney an indignant look, she just shrugged helplessly and offered him an apologetic smile as the elevator closed in his face.

"Thanks, pal." She said as she stroked the large dog behind the ears. Ever since their night together, Gage had suddenly been distant and absent and she didn't know why, but they didn't stop her mind from running through terrible, hurtful scenarios every night.

He got what he wanted, than lost interest.

He wasn't ready for a committed relationship.

And the worst of all was the thought of after years of fantasizing, it wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

Just thinking about how that might be why he had been avoiding her outside of work made tears well up in her eyes, and her stomach roll with nausea.

She had known Gage long enough to know what his _real_ "type" of woman was; tall, blonde, with legs longer than she was tall and there was just no competing with that. She wasn't even going to lower herself by trying.

Something had to give …. And soon.

* * *

Gage entered the gym and was greeted with the sounds of a punching bag being repeatedly struck and a grin crossed his face, there were only two people that would be here this late … and Walker was having dinner out with Alex tonight.

He peaked around the corner to find Sydney punishing a poor punching bag with blow after blow, she was drenched in sweat, she'd been here a while.

Gage knew he should announce himself, that what he was doing was bordering on voyeurism; but there she was, her body glistening with sweat, muscles flexing as she danced around the bag as though it were a living opponent.

They hadn't seen each other outside of work in weeks and all he could think about when he wasn't busy was the night they had spent together, how _amazing_ it was, and how he wanted every night to be like that for however long he had left on this earth.

His feet suddenly seemed to take on a mind of their own and before he knew what was happening, they were carrying him forward.

"Hey, how about giving that bag a break and sparring with me for a while?" He said, grinning at her.

She gave him a shrug. "It's your funeral." Her tone was serious, but he could see the ghost of a smile playing about her mouth; it was in that moment he knew she wasn't truly mad at him, and his heart gave a leap of joy.

"Look, I know you're pissed at me, and you have every right to be, but I had a good reason." He said with a grunt as he blocked one of her kicks.

"Oh really, so who is she _this_ time?" Sydney said, her voice tinged with venom as she dodged a punch from him.

"It's not like that, Syd." He knew what his behavior must have looked like to her but the fact that she kept rubbing his former playboy ways in his face over and over again grated on his nerves.

"Oh really? Please enlighten me, then." She spat.

Gage had finally had enough, in one fluid motion, he pinned Sydney to the mat and used his weight to keep her there.

"Hey … !" she said as she tried to throw him off, but to no avail, Gage swung his leg over her so that he was straddling her, pinning her legs under him.

"You're a wild one, aren't you? Good thing I _like_ em' a little wild." He said, his eyes suddenly burned with desire.

Sydney's Latin temper got the better of her, she let out a roar of rage and threw a punch right at his head he blocked it, took hold of her wrists and pinned her arms to the mat at her sides.

"Now you don't have any other choice but to listen to me; look … I know I've been a jerk, but I had a good reason. Julie's been really sick for the last few months and her doctors couldn't find out what was wrong, they referred her to one of the best neurologists in California and they diagnosed her with MS." He said as his eyes clouded with sadness.

Sydney suddenly realized what a huge fool she'd been.

"Oh my god, Gage I am so sorry, I've been such a bitch!" She said, Gage grinned at her as he let go of her arms and sat back on his haunches.

"It's not entirely your fault, I did just disappear like a jerk, I mean … what were you _supposed_ to think? I should've told you what was going on, but everything happened so fast. So … am I forgiven?" He said as he leaned over her.

"I don't know yet, that depends on what you're willing to do to make it up to me?" She said, her tone was matter of fact, but he could see the desire swimming around in her dark eyes.

Gage leaned forward, as though he were going to kiss her, Sydney could hear her pounding heart in her ears as he drew closer.

"That's your call." He whispered into her ear.

Sydney suddenly pushed herself into a sitting position, leaving almost no space between them. Her lips spread into a catlike grin as Gage swallowed hard, and a blush began creeping up his cheeks; she loved the effect she had on him … it encouraged her.

"I think you already know the answer." She said as she kissed him.

Gage swore he saw fireworks erupt behind his eyes, a growl rumbled from deep within him and before he knew what he was doing, he was pushing her back against the mat and ravaging her mouth with his.

"Gage no … we can't do this …" Sydney managed to interject between kisses.

Gage kissed her passionately in reply as his hands, which had taken a on a mind of their own found their way to her breasts and began fondling them through the thin fabric of her sports bra.

Steeling her resolve, Sydney pushed Gage off her with her knees, her heart clinched painfully as a look of hurt and rejection crossed his handsome face.

"Gage, we can't do this here, not that I don't _want_ to, but this is work, and it's not right." She explained.

"Then _when_? We've both been so busy … plus that thing with my sister … I'm sorry but if I don't get some alone time with you … and _soon_ I … don't know if I'll be able to control myself at work." He said as he grinned sheepishly at her.

"Be at my place in an hour … _don't_ be late." She said as she eyed him with a heated expression.

* * *

Gage's jaw flexed and he ground his teeth as yet another traffic light turned yellow, forcing him to stop for it. This had been the trend since he had left his house. He left early, so it wasn't a matter of running late, the desire and the anticipation was like a living thing that had taken possession of him.

Sydney looked at herself in her closet mirror, this had been her third outfit change and it would soon be her forth.

"What in the hell was I _thinking_?!" she said as she looked at herself in the racy red cocktail dress that barely came to her knees and fit her right in all the right places.

She walked back into her closet to change again when she heard her doorbell ring.

"Shit!" she cursed, no time to change, she blew out a steadying breath and went to answer the door.

Gage let out a low whistle before he could stop himself as he let his eyes travel down her body, taking in the way that dress hardly left _anything_ to the imagination, yet left _everything_ to it.

"Flowers for me? Why, thank you! Let me put them in some water." She said as she took them from his hand and walked to the kitchen. Gage cursed inwardly, she did in fact look as good from the back as she did from the front … just like he thought she would.

"Well, I hope you brought your appetite, because I got us reservations at Medieval Times in Dallas. I thought it would be cool if …"

"We're not going _anywhere_." Gage interrupted her, his voice husky with the desire she saw burning deep within his bright blue eyes as he blocked her way to the door.

"But Gage … I had a whole evening planned! I thought we'd go to dinner, then take a nice stroll around the Stockyards …" she trailed off as he suddenly pulled her close.

"If you had plans for us to go out, you should've worn a different dress." He whispered into her ear before claiming her mouth with his.

 _Notes: Wow sorry this took so long to update, I have been so so busy IRL._


End file.
